by Xinhua writers Cheng Lu and Wen Chihua

BEIJING, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- When amateur boxer Kurbanjan Samat bought his first camera, he never expected to use photos to fight the stereotypes surrounding people from his native Xinjiang.

"You might be thought of as a barbecue operator, nut cake vendor, or even dangerous person by some people if you're from Xinjiang," the 33-year-old Uygur photographer and documentary filmmaker says, referring to the wrong perceptions of people from this remote northwest corner of China.

Following a series of terrorist incidents inside and outside Xinjiang in recent years, the region that accounts for one-sixth of China's land territory begins to attract more attention.

People like Kurbanjan want to show real lives of Xinjiang people and make others better understand this multicultural region.

Kurbanjan dresses like a typical young stylish Chinese man in a fitted black shirt, cream rayon pants and black sneakers, as he is interviewed about his photo essay "I Am from Xinjiang", which tells the stories of 100 Xinjiangers of various ethnicities and professions across China.

With a Chinese and English version well received, its Arabic, Turkish and Japanese translations are in the pipeline.

Kurbanjan is raising money to turn the work into a documentary film.

Explaining his motivation for the project, he points to an online comment by a child from Henan who wrote that he has never been to Xinjiang but supports what Kurbanjan is doing because he knows what it is like to combat stereotypes -- in his case, Henan people are liars.

Regional stereotypes exist in many parts of China.

Henan Province used to be thought of as the center of counterfeiting. Several young Henan residents have written a book to express their discontent with the stigma.

"People have a tendency to label a certain group after a certain incident," Kurbanjan says. "The stories I told have nothing to do with ethnicity, religion and region. We are the same."

Critics have said that besides Kurbanjan's images, what's impressive is the stories behind the pictures. Each is accompanied by a biography of their subject, and Kurbanjan's backstory is no less interesting.

XINJIANGERS THROUGH LENS

Kurbanjan's name means "sacrifice", chosen as he was born during Islamic festival the Feast of Sacrifice.

He was born in Hotan Prefecture, source of a type of jade known for its soft and warm characteristics. However, his character is just the opposite.

His father, a 60-year-old jade businessman who had visited the country's inland areas in the 1980s, understands the importance of education. Kurbanjan and his siblings have moved schools three times for better education.

He started learning to box at 16. "I believed then fists could conquer all," he says.

In addition to the former boxing champion of the world Mike Tyson, his other two idols are Chinese actor Jackie Chan and war photographer Steve McCurry

Kurbanjan's love of photography began in 1999, "accidentally".

Planning to spend his savings of 3,000 yuan (around 484 U.S. dollars) on a guitar to charm the girls at school, he was instead captivated by a camera shop's display on his way to the guitar store. Kurbanjan went in and bought his first SLR.

He has been obsessed with taking pictures of beautiful landscapes and diverse cultures in Xinjiang ever since.

In 2006, he came to Beijing, more than 3,000 kilometers away from his hometown, in search of a better life and more opportunities.

Here he met his wife, a Beijing-born Uygur, orchestrated a number of award-winning photo exhibitions and participated in the shooting of documentary films, but he was troubled by one problem -- people's lack of understanding of Xinjiangers.

He was shocked by the rioting in the regional capital Urumqi on July 5, 2009. "I came to realize that fists cannot resolve all problems," Kurbanjan says.

He wanted to tell others that a few bad apples cannot represent all of Xinjiangers, and decided to do something through his lens.

"I tried to enhance people's understanding of Xinjiang through stunning landscape images, but found that real stories are the most eloquent way to talk about the people in Xinjiang," he says.

The terrorist attack at Kunming Railway Station in March 2014 bolstered his resolve. He traveled to 20 cities to photograph and interview about 500 Xinjiangers including doctors, celebrities, street vendors and thieves.

Kurbanjan has tried to make his photo essay objective, covering different Xinjiang people and their stories. "We are all Chinese no matter where we are from -- Xinjiang, Beijing or Guangdong," he says.

PLACE WITH DIVERSE CULTURES

Xinjiang is home to 47 ethnic groups including Han, Uygurs, Kazaks, Mongols and Tajiks.

Kurbanjan finds misconceptions on Xinjiang and China exist in all parts of the world. Last year, he visited the Indonesia island of Bali. A customs officer at the airport questioned his Chinese identity based on his Uygur appearance.

"The officer thought I was from Turkey, India, Iran or even Mexico, but not China," Kurbanjan remembers. "I cannot speak English. The officer tried to speak Chinese, but it was very broken and I couldn't understand him, which he took as evidence that I wasn't Chinese."

A Chinese tourist behind Kurbanjan in the line was irritated. "He told the officer that China has 56 ethnic groups with diverse cultures. They are all Chinese."

It is such kinds of misunderstandings abroad that have encouraged Kurbanjan to accept invitations from overseas Chinese students and academics to make a lecture tour at U.S. universities, starting at Harvard last month.

The title of his speech is "Promoting exchange with love: I am from Xinjiang," referencing the first Chinese character he learned to write at school, "love".

A student from Clemson University wrote him a note: "Allow me to say thanks. You make people from China, America and other parts of the world better understand Xinjiang and its diverse cultures."

The principle of love and its usefulness in promoting mutual understandings between different ethnic groups seem more effective than other things Kurbanjan remembers learning at school. He believes Chinese education puts too much emphasis on the differences of ethnic groups.

One textbook given to Kurbanjan as a youngster depicted Han people as characters wearing white towels tied around their heads and a drum on their waists, and Uygurs as dancers with flowery hats.

Kurbanjan says he has never seen any of his Han friends don a white towel. His Uygur buddy Perhat Halik, a Chinese celebrity who won second place in reality show Voice of China 2014, is not good at dancing.

He talks in a roundabout way when asked why he thinks he has found success among the many professionals to have shot photos and film about Xinjiang.

Some would say his own ethnic identity makes him stand out, but Kurbanjan emphasizes that he doesn't represent any group or region. He represents himself.

"When I take pictures and shoot films, I'm trying to make myself better and understand the real nature of human beings," he says, hoping to bring more people to know the real Xinjiang and its people.